


The Right One

by Ravendite



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Jealousy, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 02:04:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15450984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravendite/pseuds/Ravendite
Summary: Peter is your best friend, but when his relationship with his crush Liz Allan blossoms and it starts interfering with his relationship with you, you and Peter both learn lessons in making choices about what-and who-you really want.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Peter Parker fic. Sorry for the awkwardness I haven’t gotten a feel for the characters yet. I just wanted to try writing adorkable Peter. Also sorry that there isn’t a lot of Spiderman action scenes, but I didn’t want to make this too angsty. I actually set out to write fluff :/ but I’m awful at that. The ending is fluffy though! Enjoy!

"Are you from Tennesee? Cause you're the only ten I see." Peter recited.   
"I can't sit here and watch this. The second hand embarrassment is very, very real." You muttered to yourself as you watched your best friend Peter sitting across the table fumbling through terrible pick up lines.   
"Shhhh. That's not very encouraging you know? Besides I'm just practicing right now but when I ask Liz it's gonna be good. It's gonna be the real deal." He said.   
You bit your lip looking down to hide your grimace. Then you plastered a small, fake, smile on your face.   
"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" He asked trying to mimic a smolder.   
"Ah finally an accurate one. So you're saying she's a demon who got kicked out of heaven?" You asked, chuckling a bit.   
Peter looked up at you with a strange expression in his eyes.   
"Don't talk about her like that." Then he dropped his head into his hands and groaned.   
"Ughh. These are terrible. I'm terrible. I have absolutely no chance." He said.   
"Peter you'll always have a chance with the girl that's meant for you." You said.   
He glared at you.   
"You are being the most unsupportive. Don't try to start being supportive now." He muttered.   
Then he abruptly stood to leave.   
"See you tonight?" You asked trying to smooth over the rough patch with a reminded of your Wednesday tradition.   
"Peter!" You tried to call after him, but he didn't hear you or wasn't listening.   
You let the fake smile fall from your face as your real feelings about the situation began to flood your emotions. You'd almost forgotten Ned was there until he spoke up.   
"Second embarassment isn't really the reason you can't sit here and watch this it?" He asked quietly. You shook your head.   
"How long have you been in love with him?" He asked.   
"How long have you known?" You responded. He shrugged.   
"I kind of guessed a few months ago but I didn't want to say anything." He said.   
"Doesn't matter. My chances with Peter are even lower than his chances with Liz." You said shrugging.   
At that moment Michelle sat down. Her expression changed as she registered the words you said. She shooed Nate away.   
"What's going on?" She asked.   
"Peter is getting serious about asking Liz out. He wants to go to Homecoming with her. A part of me wants him to be happy no matter what, but there's another part of me that hopes that he doesn't have a chance with her because then he might want to be with me." You said.   
She shook her head.   
"Don't wish for that Y/N. You are not anybody's second choice. Wish for the person that is right for you." She said.   
You nodded, trying to take her words to heart but your heart was stubbornly stuck on Peter.   
*****  
You were relieved when he showed up at your place later that evening. You almost thought he wouldn't come.  
"Hey." You said.   
"Hey yourself," he nodded.   
He held up a bag of bread and you grabbed your backpack and walked out of the apartment complex.   
"I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I should've been more encouraging." You said.  
"I'm sorry for overreacting and snapping at you." He said.   
"You have nothing to worry about. You're smart, cute, sweet," you said, poking him with each compliment.   
"Any girl would be lucky to have you." You finished. His cheeks were pink but he seemed pleased with the compliment.   
"I actually talked to her the other day. I got her number and we started talking. You think I should take the next step and ask her out? Is she the right one?" He asked.   
Your heart was racing. Now was your chance. He was asking you...but you couldn't tell him no. Couldn't discourage him. And besides she was his first choice.   
"Go for it Peter. Like I said any girl would be lucky to have you." You said.   
He grinned at you and hugged you. Apparently that was just what he needed to hear.   
Peter had been slowly slipping away from you as he became more infatuated with Liz but now he was sliding. Your Wednesday tradition was going to the park and feeding the birds while doing homework. He spent the whole time talking about Liz.   
Your Friday tradition was hanging out and eating pizza and watching movies, so,stokes with Ned and Michelle, sometimes. That Friday he asked her out. The only sign you saw of your best friend was a text message.   
SHE SAID YES!!!  
You couldn't help it. Your heart sunk.   
But at least he was still your best friend. Until...even that began to change.   
Liz monopolized Peter's time. The time he wasn't at the internship, he spent with her. She demanded he spend his time with her. At first it was small things.   
One day at lunch Peter was sitting with you. She simpered over and in a girly, whiny voice she said "baby why don't you want to spend time with me and my friends. Do you not wanna be seen with me?" She asked. Peter's face flushed and he seemed flustered.   
"N-no it's not that-" he tried to argue, but within a minute of pouting and smiling he stood up and followed her to her lunch table.   
You looked at Michelle and Ned with your eyebrows raised.   
"Did he just ditch us?" You asked.   
"Did she really just pull the whiny, insecure girlfriend act?" Michelle asked.   
Ned just shrugged.   
But that wouldn't be the last time Peter bailed on you.   
"Y/N!" Peter called to you as you walked out of school.   
"Hey," you smiled at him,happy to see him again, but your smile stopped when you saw the look on his face   
"What's wrong?" You asked.   
"I, uh, can't come today to the park with you." He said.   
You were confused. Y'all had been doing that al,soy every week for years.   
"Why?" You asked him.   
"Just, um, a thing with Liz." He said.   
That became the tradition that overrode your traditions together. Most of the times when you were supposed to hang out with Peter, Liz would come up with something else for them to do together.   
And every time, he didn't think before choosing her.   
*****  
"Ok well I guess it's just gonna be us which means it'll be easy to pick a movie." You told Michelle as you passed her the remote.   
"What do you mean?" She asked.   
You showed her the text message where Peter said he was cancelling again because there was a party to go to.   
She sighed and hugged you.   
"I'm sorry Y/N. I know that must suck." She said.   
At that point you let your emotions rise to the surface.   
"I always thought that we had something, at least a strong friendship but he's throwing it away without a second thought. He chooses her every time. I never stood a chance did I?   
"No. Don't think of it like that. Maybe he just isn't the right person for you, but you are the right person for someone and you won't be second best to them." She said as she hugged you, but admitting how you felt outbound released the festering emotions inside of you and they hardened into a cool resolve.   
Peter hurt you so much because you were so used to having him there, you valued his friendship so much you didn't know how to live without it, but obviously it was easy for him. You decided that you had to distance yourself. Peter was hurting you and being close to him was hurting you so maybe distance was the only way to heal.   
You stopped talking to Peter during school, more than necessary. You stopped going to all of the spots you normally hung out at. You didn't respond to inside jokes and eventually sparingly responded to his text messages until you stopped altogether. And it worked. Your feelings for him felt locked away. And when they were locked away that was better than them being painful and in your face.  
But just because they were locked away did that mean they were truly gone? And you didn't notice that your locked away feelings blinded you to the feelings of the person you were locking away.


	2. Chapter 2

Peter's POV  
He almost wished he had some spiderman duties to attend to just so he could get out of this. He'd been learning to navigate this new exciting life-being Spider-Man, being an avenger, having the girl of his dreams-and it was a lot.   
Peter sighed and shifted uncomfortably at the party. He pushed through the crowd of bodies to the kitchen, the only quiet place in the house.   
Well Quieter. He could still feel the thumping beat pounding through the walls in time to the headache pounding through his head.   
He leaned back against the counter, longing to be anywhere else. No, not anywhere. At Y/N's place with Ned and Michelle all of them huddled up watching movies together. Throwing popcorn at each other and then he and Y/N would go and try to bake something and you'd usually end up covered in flour.   
Peter smiled getting lost in the memory. For a second the thumping music and the smell of sweat and alcohol faded replaced by the buzz of movies and raucous laughter and Y/N's laughter which was so beautiful. The room smelled like popcorn and the cookies they were trying not to burn. And all he could feel was your warmth as you sat next to him making jokes about the characters in the movie. Your beautiful eyes were bright. A pang of longing hit him so hard.   
"Peter!"   
His eyes snapped open as he was dragged out of the pleasant memory. His sense were once again assaulted by the party he didn't want to be at. He looked down at who had called him. Liz. Liz had called him. Liz his girlfriend. Who he'd wanted for so long. He thought he wanted her, this, but he didn't. And he started to realize it.   
"Peter come dance with me!" She said, pulling on his arm.   
He shook his head.   
"Liz I think I'm gonna head out." He said.   
She stopped smiling, a look of suspicion fell over her face.   
"Head out where?" She asked.   
"I miss my old friends. I haven't seen them in a while. So I'm gonna go hang out with them." He said.   
Her hand tightened around his arm.   
"Old friends? Like Y/N?" She asked.  
Peter noticed then that something was off. Did she have a problem with other girls?  
"Not only her. Ned and Mich-Mike."   
"So tonight you're going to hang out with them?" She asked. He nodded.   
"And Y/N won't be there?" He nodded again, instinct telling him it would be the best way to handle this.  
"Ok then." She said. Apparently his instincts had been right because she released his wrist."   
He texted Ned who told him that they were all hanging out at his place. Then he took off, feeling lighter and happier as he followed the tug in his heart.   
When he got there he couldn't help but smile. Ned and Michelle and Y/N were there and they were watching an action movie and eating popcorn and fresh baked cookies. He felt his body relaxing as he felt at home, finally among his real friends.   
He strode into the room plopped on the couch. Everyone turned around. Ned smiled and Michelle cheered.   
"Well well well look what the car dragged in. No parties tonight?" She asked.   
"Nah I got tired of having my brains slowly pounded out by loud music." He said.   
Then he heard you laugh and he looked at you' your eyes, your smile, you looked so beautiful and familiar just curled up on the couch. He felt longing and warmth wash over him as he got the urge to pull you into his arms. Because he missed you he thought to himself. And he realized he did really miss you.   
Maybe that's why he did what he did next. He leaned close to Y/N and wrapped her in his arms, pulling her against his chest, and burying his face in her neck.  
"I've missed you." He murmured against her skin.   
Y/N froze, rigid, before she pushed him away. She stood up abruptly.   
"I have to go. Bye guys." She said. Then she walked out of the apartment.   
Peter just stared after your retreating form, hurt.   
"That was quite a hug." Michelle commented.   
"I miss her. Is she avoiding me?" Peter responded.   
Michelle averted his eyes.   
"Peter you're the one who's kind of been avoiding us ever since you started dating Liz." She said.   
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just got kind of caught up. I was so excited about everything new I didn't realize how much I'd miss the old. I thought that with everything new going on in my life I needed a new life, needed to change things up and do different things and go to parties. And I thought I had to do it to be a good boyfriend, but I know kinks that being a good boyfriend doesn't mean forgetting about my friends. And-"  
"Peter!" Ned yelled, cutting him off.   
"You're good. We get it. You're forgiven. But it's not us you need to be convincing." He said.   
"So she is avoiding me?" Peter asked. Neither answered.   
Peter got out his phone and sent you a message. You didn't respond. Throughout the night he kept sending you messages and checking his phone for a response.   
Finally, Michelle was exasperated with his wasted efforts.   
"Give it up Peter. She doesn't want to talk to you." She said.   
His heart fell and panic blossomed inside him. He had lost his best friend. He couldn't have lost his best friend. He couldn't lose you. There had to be a way to fix this. As he was replaying what Michelle had said in his head, he got an idea. He realized that he might be ok. He hadn't completely lost you.   
You didn't want to talk to Peter.  
Y/N POV  
You had taken to going to the park alone on days when you figured letter wouldn't be there, because it was still a great spot to hang out. You weren't expecting that you wouldn't be alone, but your companion was even more unexpected.   
Surely spider man had better things to do than hang out with you, but it seemed like whenever he was t off saving the city, he liked to hang out with you. And you found that he wasn't bad company at all. In fact, he reminded you of your friend you were trying so hard to forget. And he made forgetting him both easier and harder.   
*****  
"You will need to pair up for this project." Your teacher announced.   
Peter immediately turned to you, his eyes bright with the excitement of the project and something else.   
"So Y/N-"   
You cut him off when you turned around to the guy sitting on the other side of you, David.   
"Hey David, you wanna be partners?" You asked him.   
He looked up at you, surprised.   
"Y-yeah sure!" He said. Then he stopped as he spotted something (or someone behind you).  
"But don't you usually work with Peter?" He asked.   
"Yeah don't you?" Peter asked from behind you. You didn't even turn around as you told David, "normally but I wanna try so,etching new. Besides the person you sit next to isn't here and I don't want you to have to work alone." You said. He smiled.   
"Thank you." He said.   
With that you pulled your chair closer to his and y'all began planning the project together. When the warning bell rang, you weren't quite through.   
"We can work on it some more after school if you want." You said.   
"I do want to work on it but I do not want to spend another hour in this dreary, sunless place. Can we work outside?" He asked.   
"Actually, I know a park that we can go to. It's great for working but it's also pretty cheerful." You said. Behind you you heard a choking sound and a snap. You turned around and saw Peter with a broken pencil in his hand.   
"I thought you stopped going there. Or forgot that it existed." Peter said to you. His eyes were sad and you felt your cold resolve shaking.   
"Of course not. Why would you think that?" You asked.   
You shook your head and hurried out the classroom.   
"Because I've waited there for you every Wednesday for the past month and you've never shown." He said quietly, but you were already gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter’s POV  
Peter kept pacing across the room.   
“I don’t get it. She can’t show up to hang out there with me anymore even though it was our special place. Why does she want to hang out with him and not me? What does he have that I don’t? We always work on projects together. Is it because he dresses nicer than I do? He wears those really fancy clothes. Does Y/N care about that kind of stuff?” Peter rambled as he paced.   
“Peter! Listen to yourself. You have a girlfriend remember?” Ned reminded him.   
Peter stopped, wondering why he cared so much.   
“It’s not like that. She’s my best friend and I miss her.” Peter said.   
“Yeah. I know you miss her. Got that last time you missed her and gave her that platonic hug. Just go talk to her dude. Ask her these questions. See for yourself.” Ned told him.   
He smiled and nodded.   
“Be back soon.”   
Y/N’s POV  
You and David had fallen into a nice comfortable routine, assembling the project while you talked about everything except the project.   
You smiled from second hand happiness as David finished his story about his boyfriend coming out for him.   
"Love love love love love! Isn't it beautiful?" He sighed, throwing himself dramatically across your lap. You smiled.   
"And what about you and your boyfriend?" He asked.   
Above you you thought you heard the trees creak.   
You sighed in exasperation.   
"I really wish you'd stop saying that. There's nothing there."   
"You and Peter have chemistry! Everyone thought y'all were dating for years! And if there's nothing there then why does Liz hate you hanging out with him so much huh?" He asked.   
"Wait what?" You asked.   
"Yeah. That's why she's been trying to keep him from hanging out with you. Everyone was talking about it. How Liz's new man might be in love with someone else she was mad so she made sure he wouldn't see you." David explained.   
You just stood your head.   
"Well he let her. She made him choose and he chose her." You said.   
*****  
You only had a few moments of solitude. Moments after you waved goodbye to David your new friend dropped into the seat he'd been in.   
"Hey! I wanted to drop by earlier but you looked pretty cozy with that guy and he was asking about if you had a boyfriend so it seemed like he was trying to be your boyfriend…? Or do you have one that you just didn’t mention to your new friend?” he asked.  
“That’s my friend David. He has a boyfriend. He was teasing me. I don’t have a boyfriend but my best friend-well ex-best friend Peter Parker we used to be really close. David says that we were so close that he was like my boyfriend,” you snorted as you said the last part, trying to keep the pain out of your voice.   
You must have been imagining it, but he almost sounded hurt.  
“What’s so bad about your friend Peter?” Spiderman asked.   
“He’s not my friend anymore. He got a girlfriend and she didn’t approve of how close we were. She started making sure he wouldn’t hang out with me. He kept ditching me and it hurt so I just decided to rip off the band-aid. If he had to choose he’d choose her because she’s the right one for him. I need to find the right guy for me. And I thought it was him but it’s not and there is someone who’s right for him and it hurts and that’s why I can’t be friends with him anymore. And even if I wanted to his girlfriend wouldn’t allow it. I guess it was obvious that I loved him.”  
“Love?” Spiderman asked. He sounded breathless. He was leaning towards you, as if excited.   
“Y/N-“  
Squeeaaal.   
The screeching of sirens cut through the peaceful air as red and blue lights sped into the distance. Spiderman jerked up. He pulled you into his arms and bounded off, running and swooping and swinging through the city. Within a minute you were at your apartment. Spiderman set you down carefully. He leaned in to kiss you. The kiss just barely ghosted over your lips then he jerked away and jumped out the window, racing to keep the city safe.  
With the adrenaline coursing through your veins, you were too distracted to wonder how Spiderman knew where you lived.  
Peter’s POV  
Peter stumbled in tired and sweaty, jerking Ned away from what he’d been doing.   
“Told you I’d be back!” Peter panted.   
“It took that much to talk to Y/N?” Ned asked, disbelievingly. Peter nodded.  
“You know how girls can be man.” Peter said.   
“Yeah. Sure. So?” Ned asked.   
Peter thought about the gap he felt in his life without you, the way that it felt to hold you in his arms, and the way his heart swelled when you said you loved him. At that moment everything clicked into place.  
“I know what I have to do.” Peter said.   
Peter was trying hard to listen to what Liz was saying but he couldn’t focus.   
“Liz.” He said, cutting her off.   
She looked surprised; he’d never cut her off before. He’d never been anything but polite and docile.   
“What’s up babe?” she asked.   
“Ever since I started dating you, I’ve been spending less and less time with my friends doing the things I like. I enjoy spending time with you at parties and football games, but I also want to be able to spend time with my friends doing what I like.” Peter said.  
“Friends? Does that include your one on one dates with Y/N?” Liz asked, arms crossed.   
“No. Yes. No they’re not dates, but yes, she is my friend and my time with her is important to me.” Peter insisted. When I don’t spend time with her I go out of my mind with missing her and wanting her, he thought to himself.   
“Peter where’s this coming from? This doesn’t sound like you. Have you been hanging out with Y/N? Is that where this is coming from?” she asked.  
“No. This is me. This is who I am. I’ve just been scared to be myself because I wanted to be someone you’d like. I wanted to be the cool, popular guy, with the gorgeous, popular girlfriend. I’ve been trying to be who you want me to be but that’s not who I am.” He said.   
“Peter of course you can be yourself with me. Y/N’s been putting this stuff in your head. You know what? No more of it. When you weren’t spending time with “your friends”, and you weren’t spending time with her you weren’t saying stuff like this, so I want you to go back to not spending time with her.” Liz said.  
“Liz-“ Peter started.  
“No! This is it Peter. It’s her or me.”  
Y/N’s POV  
Knock knock knock.   
You opened the door, then closed it immediately, your heart fluttering in your chest.   
“No,” Peter said, jamming his foot in the door, preventing you from closing it.   
“Leave me alone Peter.” You said, trying to close it.   
“Not until I say what I need to say.” He said.   
You kept pushing the door, but your heart was fluttering and the familiar smell of him washed over you and you felt an urge to hug him, but you settled with just hearing him out. You let go of the door.   
“Thank you.” Peter said as he walked in.   
“Five minutes.” You told him.  
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that I wasn’t here for you. I’m sorry that I let someone come in between us. I’m sorry for bailing on our time together because the time I spend with you means the world to me. You mean the world to me.” He said.   
You felt a rush of love and pain. He was saying all the right words at the wrong time-while he had a girlfriend.   
“Peter why are you telling me this now? You have a girlfriend.”  
“And I’m here to fix-“   
“You chose her. You love her more than you love me and I love you more than you love me-“  
“I chose wrong.” Peter yelled.   
You were shocked, sure you’d heard wrong. He just continued.   
“I didn’t realize. I was going through all these changes in my life and I was looking and searching for something and I was so busy searching I was too stupid to realize what I was looking for has been right here all this time. You’ve been here all this time. I wanted the person who was just right for me and I thought it was Liz but it isn’t.   
It’s been you this whole time. If I don’t spend time with her I’ll be fine, but if I don’t spend time with you then I go out of my mind. I want to touch you and hold you and kiss you and make you laugh and see you smile and when you do smile it lights up my world and I understand I messed up. You said you loved me past tense. I can understand if you don’t love me now but please just be my fri-“  
You cut him off as you pressed your lips to his. You felt a spark that jolted down your spine and you were flooded with warmth. You wrapped your arms around Peter’s neck and he grabbed your waist and pulled your body against his as he deepened the kiss and you both melted into it.   
After a few moments you pulled away to breathe.  
“Does that give you an answer?” you asked him, breathless from the kiss.   
He smiled, gazing at you lovingly.   
“I was gathering some data from that kiss to determine if we made the right choice. My data says 100% yes. How about yours?” he asked.   
“I’m gonna need to gather some more data. Just to be more than 100% sure.” You said as you pulled him into another kiss.


End file.
